User Application
BBS Operation - The User Application
The application routine is used to find out information about your new users. The application routine is also used to get other membership information such as a real name and phone number. Fortunately for you, this aspect of the BBS program can be fully customized. To use the application feature, you'll need to have the file called "√application" present on your System Files drive. The √application file must be formatted in a certain way, so pay attention. I suggest you use the included "√application" file and then modify it to suit your own needs.
User Input Prompts
When the application routine first begins, it will spit out any text it finds in this .application file, UNTIL it sees a “#" as the first character in any line. When that occurs, it will stop and await user input, then it will continue until it finds another "#" or the end of the file. The user input at each of these prompts is put into their application.
The routine gives you the capability of including simple remarks for each question. For example, after a new user fills out the entire application, they are given their responses. The only problem is, they probably forgot what the questions were. This problem is corrected by allowing you to add a small remark which will show up after the caller completes the questions. These remarks will also go into your mailbox so that you will be able to know what the questions were as well.
To include a remark, you place it after the “#" in the file. The remark should be as short as possible but should still convey the meaning of the information in the answer. See the below picture as an example.
Anything included after the “#" will precede the caller's answer when they review their information, and in the final application. So, if the caller answered: "John Smith", it would end up in your mailbox as: "My Full Name Is: John Smith". Just remember that the remarks should be as short as possible.
Getting Membership Information
The application routine is where you will also get some of the information that goes into the caller's password record, such as the real name, phone number, etc. The application routine will recognize 5 special remarks that will indicate you want to ask for this information. To accomplish this, you use a prompt line in this format:
The 5 codes (rn$, ph$, bd, a1$, a2$), are the BASIC variable names for the real name, phone number, birth date, address line 1, and address line 2, respectively. The choice of these as the codes was arbitrary, but I thought it would make things easier in the future if more codes were added.
When displayed on the screen to the caller, and when put in the mailbox, the codes will not be included as part of the text (e.g. it would appear as Real Name, not (rn$)Real name). The information that they enter will be put in their permanent password record, and the routine is currently set up so that the caller cannot leave a question blank. If you wish for callers to be able to leave these types of questions blank, then delete line 18851 of √bbs.init. Also, you can ask as many or as few of these special questions as you like but remember that this is the only automatic way to obtain this information.
Once the Caller is Finished
The application routine will send the results of a new user's application to your mailbox AND to an ongoing monthly self-maintaining archive file. This file will be automatically created on your PRIVATE MESSAGES drive each month with the filename of: "√questXX". "XX" being the month of applications in that file. This file serves no purpose other than to keep a record of new users’ info. You can scratch the file or copy the file off at any time you like.
If you would like to redirect the application results to go into someone else’s mailbox, look through the code (18700+) and look for the phrase "√private 2". You will see it in two places. Make sure you change it in both places if you want the mail to go to a different ID (perhaps a co-sysop who validates).
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